ME Dem Attorney Tom Connolly Arrested

Wow.
:shock:

*note to Connolly clan.... time for an extended visit to the "Betty Ford Clinic for Terminal Lack of Common Sense."*

Please note he had his Hat.

JimV: Do you think the lawyer will have a field day on this one, because I agree with you accept, if he was on a limited access road he is breaking the law, and be asked by the Police to do as they say.

I wonder if they Finger printed this guy, and gave him a Mug Shot. I want to see it if they treat all Perps the same.

EJ

*note to Connolly clan.... time for an extended visit to the "Betty Ford Clinic for Terminal Lack of Common Sense."*

But for who? That is obviously a costume. The 'gun' is a toy. The cops should be able to figure that out. If they had to react as they did, then they should have backed off when it was clear the guy was in halloween costume. Would they have arrested some fool in a Pirate costume complete with plastic sword? The cpwboy with his six guns? How about some fat overaged bimbo in a ballerina costume (talk about terrorizing)

The more I see the more it looks like the police are on a zero tolerance policy about anything that even looks like an evil gun, despite the states very clear statutes making it very legal.

Um how terribly daft of this guy.

JimV: Do you think the lawyer will have a field day on this one, because I agree with you accept, if he was on a limited access road he is breaking the law, and be asked by the Police to do as they say.

I wonder if they Finger printed this guy, and gave him a Mug Shot. I want to see it if they treat all Perps the same.

EJ

He was arrested for 'terrorizing' some sort of a bogus crime that makes illegal what is otherwise legal by statute if the cops wants it so.

I do not begrudge the police action but it should have stopped immediately when they found the guy in costume with no weapons of any sort. This sounds like pissed off cops abusing their power. While I believe the guy is swine, I do hope he sues the badges off those folk for abuse of power.

I spent lunch at the mall. There must have been 50 adults in full costume in the mall. Do we arrest those folk....some were pretty terrifying?

Jim, unfortunately it is hard to tell from the picture, but I wonder if the toy gun had the red plastic thing on the end. It looks like a pretty real gun.

I can only hope that he has committed some offense
that will net him a stay at Maine Corr. Ctr.. This is only so he can bond
with us Correctional Officers who he loved to accuse of beating "Norman Dickinson "
up in prison.

Sometimes life just gets better as the day goes on. This is one of them :D

I agree with JimV on this. Custome on Halloween, during a political season.

Drove through down town portland, the halloween dressed people are out in force.

EJ

*note to Connolly clan.... time for an extended visit to the "Betty Ford Clinic for Terminal Lack of Common Sense."*

But for who? That is obviously a costume. The 'gun' is a toy. The cops should be able to figure that out. If they had to react as they did, then they should have backed off when it was clear the guy was in halloween costume. Would they have arrested some fool in a Pirate costume complete with plastic sword? The cpwboy with his six guns? How about some fat overaged bimbo in a ballerina costume (talk about terrorizing)

The more I see the more it looks like the police are on a zero tolerance policy about anything that even looks like an evil gun, despite the states very clear statutes making it very legal.

Jim, When Chitwood was Chief he publicly stated he would arrest anyone legally exercising their right to open carry if they were seen in Portland. Apparently that attitude has not left the department.

An L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy I know always said "They are going to jail for being stupid" I guess that works in Portland too.

I agree they should have dropped it once they figured it all out. He was really lucky nothing bad happened to him when he would not comply with their orders.

--JoeH

I would agree that from here, that gun looks pretty real. From a car going by at 45, it would doubtless look very real indeed. He is guilty of very poor judgement, if nothing else.

First of all they DIDN'T shoot him.

Secondly, if an officer draws on you and tells you to something, it doesn't matter if you are right, wrong or indifferent - if you like the idea of living until a ripe old age, you should probably do what the officer tells you to do.

Not "drop objects that look like grenades".

The gun looks sort of real to me and in the dark it would look even more real.
Still, his 'trademark' hat might have given him away as himself. Remember his hat signs?

Still, WHAT AN IDIOT.

What if a motorist would have panic at the sight of the gun and got into an accident and killed someone? They should throw the book at this buffoon, a couple years in jail at the least.

Like I said... a stay in the "Betty Ford Clinic for Lack of Common Sense" will likely benefit this guy more than a night in jail. He should have left the gun and the grenades at home.

Then I would say the motorist would be at fault for not paying attention to the road and not having control of his vehicle. It all goes back to being afraid of our own shadows. We have created a society that believes that guns are evil and only LEO's should have them.

The site of guns should not panic us, seeing it is hunting season.

So Naran, let me get this straight, you want to make the lack of common sense, a crime. And who will define, common sense, or will it be subjective?

*sigh*

If he pulled the same stunt in an airport, would security be justified in detaining him?

robert

She does not, otherwise many people, such as dems, would be put into jail under her rule of Naran Law.

JimV:

I agree that this is silly, and I am sure the training for getting a perp off the street is to protect yourself (Draw weapon) and take chances that it is a Joker with a custome later.

OK, I did get a great laugh out of this.

What about the people who helped him? Or was he all alone?

from the Raw video, the Police were very professional, and looks like they were not sure if this guy was for real or not.

Wish I could have seen it, good for WCSH for being there video rolling.

EJ

I disagree on the 'gun' but after the police arrived, it becomes clear immediately that the thing is a plastic toy, at which point a responsible cop would tell the jerk to knock it off as he is spooking the panty wearing populace of socialist South Portland. A responsible response would have been an offer of a ride home.

Instead we get arrested for 'criminal terrorizing'.....'criminal terrorizing'....in a halloween costum with a toy gun. Heck, lets talk about real terrorizing. I am terrorized each and every day I get my city tax bill. Can I sick the cops on the mayor?

Should I leave the turban at home when hunting this year?

Jim - again, we don't have all the facts. We don't know what Connolly said to the cops when they confronted him. Is it possible there's some mitigating circumstances we don't know about yet?

I don't agree that he deserves jail time for this. The publicity and humiliation is punishment enough. By now the news has spread to the Outer Hebrides.

Tom O - are you preparing a Chumpline? I'm certain as Christmas this will be top news on Howie tonight.

"Police arrest man dressed as Bin Laden"

Police association to endorse Baldacci, Curley 11:12 AMSOUTH PORTLAND — Thomas J. Connolly, of Scarborough, a prominent defense attorney and 1998 Democratic candidate for governor was charged with criminal threatening this morning after an incident beside Interstate 295.

PPH

An L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy I know always said "They are going to jail for being stupid" I guess that works in Portland too.

I agree they should have dropped it once they figured it all out. He was really lucky nothing bad happened to him when he would not comply with their orders.

--JoeH

This is the South Portland police, not Chitwoods folk.

I just figure the jerk arrested today could be the normal citizen lawfully acting tomorrow because some police force sees itself above the law, like they did in Nagans New Orleans.

I'm with JimV on this one.

And if he was in Civil War costume complete with sword and musket? Would the passerby's have paniced. Would the police.

I agree the guy was an idiot BUT that is not the problem. The issue is what the police did when they discovered the arms were toys and the garb a costume...they arrested the guy!

That was a grotesque over reaction. Even in Maine dressing in a costume on Halloween and displaying toy guns IS NOT ILLEGAL and should never result in arrest.

Jim, EJ, get a load of this part in the article - he refused to listen to the police and was also carrying fake dynamite:

"Four South Portland officers and two state troopers converged on the man. They drew their guns when he did not respond to their demand that he drop his weapon.

Police said instead he walked toward them dropping plastic hand grenades. His costume included fake dynamite and bandoliers, police said."

I loved this quote. Only a liberal could talk like this:

"Connolly met with reporters briefly after posting bail to secure his release. Criminal threatening is a misdemeanor.

"There was a First Amendment this morning when I woke up. I don't know how it evaporated with the dawn," he said."

Not with the fake War Hero providing comic relief this afternoon.

"Four South Portland officers and two state troopers converged on the man. They drew their guns when he did not respond to their demand that he drop his weapon.

Police said instead he walked toward them dropping plastic hand grenades. His costume included fake dynamite and bandoliers, police said."

I loved this quote. Only a liberal could talk like this:

"Connolly met with reporters briefly after posting bail to secure his release. Criminal threatening is a misdemeanor.

"There was a First Amendment this morning when I woke up. I don't know how it evaporated with the dawn," he said."

Reacting to a report someone with a gun who looks like a terrorist is acting strangerly by the highway is responsible. Demanding the idiot obey the cops is also responsible. What is not responsible is then, upon finding the guy was in costume on halloween, arresting the guy for a bogus crime like 'criminal terrorizing'....THAT is not reasonable and may be actionable.

If the idiot tried to hit the cop or refused to cooperate, then we have an arrest for that, but no, they pulled a pseudo crime out of the blue and arrested the guy.

Sorry, he is right. He has an absolute right to be both stupid and a jerk. He is far less dangerous than those swine who march without permit through the streets of Portland protesting the war. We seem to surviv their behavior. Even their silly giant puppets are protected speach, why not this jerk?

Maybe he was trying to get arrested. Hoping to get publicity and link TABOR with UBL.